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He has his
photograph taken hundreds of times every
day and he has his own web site on the
Internet.
At
Christmas-time Peter receives 900 cards.
Every week 200 letters a week from all
over the world arrive in London - most
just addressed to The Town Crier,
London.
The Post
Office delivers them all to Peter's home
at Wandsworth Common.
It is
there that he can relax with his dog,
Hession and cockateil, Clive - who
suddenly became Clivette a few weeks ago,
when a clutch of eggs appeared in the
cage!
Peter has
live in his terraced house for 14 years
and he likes its location because he can
take Hession for walks on the common and
it is near enough to Central London for
him to ride his bright red motorbike to
assignments.
Peter's
motto is Have Bell Will Travel - and he
certainly keeps to his word!
He has
been London's town crier for 21 years and
he has 'shouted' at many great events
including the marriage of Prince Charles
and Lady Diana Spencer and the births of
Princes William and Harry.
Peter's
diary is booked months in advance - he
could be leading a parade, opening a new
shop, welcoming tourists in Parliament
Square or acting as a
toastmaster.
His bright
red £2,000 outfit attracts tourists
like a magnet - and they expect him to be
a walking guide book!
"An
American came up to me recently and asked
if he needed a boat to go on the River
Thames," says Peter. "I told him it would
probably be advisable!"
"One day a
woman said: 'Excuse me, its raining and my
children are getting wet. When is it going
to stop?'
"Another
man asked me which days they did
executions at the Tower of London. I told
him that we don't have executions any
more."
"But it
says in my guide book that it's the site
of executions," the man told
Peter.
"I
answered 'Oh, yes, I forgot, they're at
3pm on Fridays!"
Peter is a
well-loved figure. He regularly appears on
television, and when one of his bells was
stolen, he put out an appeal on Radio
Four. He was inundated with replacement
bells which he now keeps in the cupboard
under his stairs.
Peter
can't imagine retiring as London's most
famous human tourist attraction, but when
he does hang up his bell, he'll be busy
for years - sticking thousands of pictures
into albums.
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